


like ripples, like love

by airnomadenthusiast



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (in the case of Jet and Zuko), Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Past jetko, Trans Asami, Trans Smellerbee, background bopal, background kyalin - Freeform, background metalbee, background yueki, coffee shop AU, i didn't make it weird i promise i adore suki, past Sukka, trans Bolin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airnomadenthusiast/pseuds/airnomadenthusiast
Summary: Mako hates everything about Wu: his stubbornness, his entitlement, his perfect hair. So he's not thrilled when both of them get tangled up in Mako's boss's decades-old drama. But what happens when it turns out his annoying customer is more than meets the eye?Title from Chet Lam's 2017 album of the same name.
Relationships: Bolin & Mako (Avatar), Haru & Sokka (Avatar), Haru/Jet (Avatar), Jet & Wu, Jet & Zuko (Avatar), Korra & Mako (Avatar), Korra/Asami Sato, Lin Beifong & Mako, Mako & Asami Sato, Mako & Haru, Mako & Jet, Mako & Sokka, Mako & Zuko (Avatar), Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 53
Kudos: 68





	1. excuse my ego

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank my beta reader @GildedFlowers, my tumblr mutuals who convinced me to actually write this, Chet Lam, and whoever made that post about 200k enemies to lovers coffee shop aus. 
> 
> chapter title from Rina Sawayama's "Commes des Garcons (Like the Boys)"

To Mako he was always  _ the  _ customer. He had seldom mentioned him under any other name (mostly because he didn’t know the customer’s name, they weren’t  _ Starbucks _ —but that was beside the point.) It wasn’t that he hated the customer—except, well, he did. Vocally. There had been many a night after closing, at his and Bolin’s cramped apartment or at “family dinner” with Jet and Haru (they weren’t a family and they rarely ate dinner, but Haru and Bolin insisted on calling it that anyway) where Mako had complained, incessantly, about  _ the  _ customer, his overcomplicated drink orders and the way he tried to schmooze with Mako every time he approached the register. Usually, he got in right when they opened, and stayed for  _ hours _ , ordering more coffee and getting on Mako’s last nerve. Mako wasn’t sure what was a fireable offense to Jet, but nevertheless, he didn’t want to push his luck. 

So when the customer walked in, his hair shiny black and effortlessly perfect, his skin brown and clear, without a spot in sight, his clothes expensive and immaculate ( _ You sure seem to know a lot about this guy for hating him so much _ , Bolin had said, too many times for him to count) Mako did his best not to sigh in exasperation. They weren’t technically closed yet, but they were close enough to closing that he felt like he shouldn’t have to deal with another customer. He’d been on his feet for nine hours, excluding breaks, and after a week where he’d done nothing but work, get bad grades, and work some more, the last thing he wanted to deal with was  _ the customer _ . 

He stared at the clock, and then at Korra. She smiled, and mouthed  _ he’s all yours _ . 

He rolled his eyes. What were best friends for, if not for taking the last customer off your hands after a bad week? But he supposed she was tired too (something about her family coming to visit in a little while—he hadn’t been fully awake when she was telling him about it.)

The customer approached the counter, smiling. “How’re you doing, sport?” 

Mako opened his mouth to respond, but the customer cut him off. “I’ll have a iced-drip latte with soy milk and a pineapple bun?” 

Mako gritted his teeth. “We don’t have soy milk. And there’s no such thing as an iced-drip latte.” The customer had been coming every day for a month and a half, and yet, somehow, he hadn’t gotten it through his thick skull—

The customer sighed. “Fine. Make it an iced-drip coffee. Do you have low-fat milk?” 

“Yes,” Mako said, resisting the urge to throttle him. “What kind of pineapple bun do you want?” 

“Red bean paste.” The customer smiled. “Are you guys going to stay open for a little longer?” 

Mako pursed his lips. “We’re closing in a couple minutes.” 

The customer grinned. “Sure you couldn’t stay open just a little bit for your favorite customer?” 

Later, he was going to ask Jet for a raise, and he was going to cite this moment and the fact that he hadn’t spat in the customer’s face. “Company policy. We’re closing. Korra!” he yelled. “One iced-drip with low-fat milk!” 

Korra did groan, but it was somewhat muffled by the clatter of dishes in the sink, so he decided he’d let it slide. (He would let it slide regardless—Korra was his best friend, after all—but he was shift manager, so he had to have some illusion of doing things the right way.) She took one of the fancy new jugs Jet had gotten to set up their iced-drip operation and took it in the back. Mako, meanwhile, took one of the red bean pineapple buns from the display case and put it in a bag. 

“Wait!” the customer said. “Aren’t you going to ask me if I want that for here or to go?” 

Mako bit the inside of his lip briefly before speaking. “We’re closing in—” he checked his watch “—two minutes.” 

The customer narrowed his eyes, and Mako decided he would just leave it alone, chalk it up to a bad end to a bad week. He was tired. Way too tired. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Make it quick.” 

The customer gave him a self-satisfied smirk as Mako rang him up and handed him a plate for his pastry, which he seemed to be eating extra slowly just to make Mako upset. 

“Hey, it’s closing time, why aren’t you—oh.” Korra laughed. “You hate this, don’t you?” 

“Keep your voice down,” Mako growled. “Come on, let’s go to the back.” 

Korra nodded, and they went to the back, where Mako immediately started washing dishes and putting them away. “I hate him,” he muttered. 

“So tell Jet,” Korra said. “I’m sure he can do something.” 

“I did tell Jet,” Mako muttered. “And he said ‘oh, I’m so sorry, Mako, that’s so unfortunate, Mako, but you know what, Mako, think of life as an annoying customer.’ I don’t know what’s come over him.” 

Korra laughed. “The boss is getting soft in his old age.” 

“He expects me to be able to handle more now that I’ve been  _ promoted. _ ” As if Mako needed to handle anything else.

She shrugged. “I mean, it’s what, fifteen minutes? We’ll be fine.” 

An hour later, she was not so easygoing. “Gah, he’s still here?” she groaned. “How long does it take to eat one pastry?” 

Mako dried the last dish and put it on the rack. “About as long as it takes to do a full load of dishes.” He smiled at her. “You could have helped, you know.” 

“I kept up the atmosphere,” she said lightly. “Can’t you kick him out? Be a shift manager!” 

Mako sighed. “Jet doesn’t like it when I kick people out.” 

“Is Jet going to pay us overtime for staying here waiting for him to finish?” 

“Good point. I’ll be right back.” 

He walked out to see the customer at Mako’s favorite table, the one right by the window, looking out on the streets of Hong Kong. Just crumbs on his plate, and his coffee had been forgotten a long time ago. He was just looking out the window, watching the world go by. 

Mako cleared his throat. “So, uh, we’re closing now.” 

That snapped the customer out of his reverie. “What? But I just got here!” 

“It’s been an hour,” Mako said. “Look, let me get your plate and cup, all right? Have a good rest of your night.” 

“Oh come on, sport, just let me stay a little longer. You guys can close while I’m sitting here, right?” 

Mako took a deep breath. “It would be a lot easier if you left, but yes, we can.” 

“Come on, this is what your manager pays you overtime for!” the customer said, apparently not seeing any irony in that. He dropped a napkin on the floor and didn’t pick it up, and Mako filed it away to bring up with Jet later. They had the right to ban customers. Right?

He went back to Korra. “So we’re going to start closing.” 

Her eyes lit up. “So he’s gone?” 

Mako shook his head. “We’re going to start closing while he sits here.” 

Korra rolled her eyes. “Ugh, why won’t he just leave? It’s been an hour!” 

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said as he started picking up around them. 

She got a devious look in her eye. “Let me talk to him.” 

Mako stood between her and the door. “Korra, no. 

“Oh come on, you know you want me to!” 

He scowled. She wasn’t wrong. “I don’t want to get into a fight with this guy right now. If Jet fires me—” 

Korra scoffed. “Jet loves you! He just promoted you! I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you let me yell at an annoying customer.” 

“Okay, well what if he fires you?” 

Korra laughed. “Mako, I love you, but you worry too much. I’ll ask my parents for some more money for the rest of the year, and then I’ll go back to Vancouver!” 

Mako’s eyes stung. Right. Korra was leaving soon. He’d almost forgotten about that. She was only here for a year, studying abroad at CUHK while getting her pre-med requirements. In just a few months, she’d go back to Canada, and he would be here. 

“I still don’t want you to lose your job,” he said quietly. “I like seeing you around.” 

Her eyes went soft. “Aw, Mako.” She smiled at him, and his heart twisted. He was going to miss her so much once she was gone. “Okay, fine, I won’t yell at him. For your sake. But for the record, I don’t want to close with a customer in here.” 

Mako nodded. “Agreed. Let’s get to work.” 

They started putting up the tables and chairs, cleaning off the equipment. When Korra went to wipe off the cold drip brewer, which would be running for the rest of the night, the customer turned to face her, smiling in a way Mako didn’t like. 

“So,” the customer said. “You come here often?” 

Korra rolled her eyes. “What do you want?” 

He stood, holding his hands up. “Just want to say hi to a pretty lady. My name’s Wu.” he stuck out his hand.

Korra didn’t shake. “Korra. Nice to meet you, but I’m kind of busy. Closing.”

“So what you’re saying is, I’m special?” Wu said, waggling his eyebrows. 

Mako got in between them. “I’m sorry, if you’re going to act like that, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” 

Wu— _ the customer _ —just smiled. “Oh, I get it, you probably don’t want me flirting with your girlfriend, huh? That’s okay, I totally get it—” 

“She’s not my girlfriend!”  _ Anymore _ , Mako’s mind supplied. He was just lucky that Korra was a nice person who still wanted to be friends with him after… everything. 

The customer’s smile only got wider. “Hm, I don’t know, I’m sensing some tension there. You know, you start out coworkers, and next thing you know—” 

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Korra growled. 

The customer sighed. “Whatever happened to customer service?” 

And at that point, Mako saw red. “Customer service went out the window when you stayed here an  _ hour  _ and—” he paused to check his watch “—fifteen minutes past closing!”

The customer stiffened. “All right, big boy. I know when I’m not welcome.” He got up to leave, picking up his coat. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t get up to any trouble while I’m gone.” He smirked in Mako’s direction, and left.

Korra stared out at the door the customer walked out of, dumbfounded. “Big boy?”

_______________________

Wheat and Cream was the brainchild of Mako’s boss, Jet, and his partner Haru. It was a simple setup: people would come into the coffee shop to get a break from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong streets. But then, they’d see the warm atmosphere, the beautiful plates and cups, the new cold drip brewer, and they would be so charmed that they would stay awhile. Inevitably, someone, either Jet or one of the shift managers, would casually let drop that all of their plates and cups were handmade upstairs, and the customers would go up excitedly to find Haru and Opal handcrafting plates and bowls, marvel at the craftsmanship, and perhaps buy a set. 

Mako didn’t care much for coffee, or for ceramics. But he did care about his brother. He needed to find them both some place to work where the boss wouldn’t ask too much about Bolin’s deadname, or where their parents were, or why Mako was always looking over his shoulder. Some place that would give them enough money to live on their own with the way rents and tuition were skyrocketing. There were a few places in Central that advertised as being safe for tongzhi, but they didn’t pay much and were far away from Bolin and Mako’s apartment. So Mako showed up to Wheat and Cream, desperate, asking the elderly man at the register if there were any spots open. 

The man’s eyes glinted. “What do you know, I just had two people quit.” 

And thus began the best job Mako had ever had. Jet may have been his boss, but he acted like a friend. When he came into the shop, which was rarer these days with the way his back pain flared up, he always went on some long diatribe about how to treat the customers, or how to balance the books, how to manage a team. He’d ask Mako what he thought they could do to make the shop better. It was weird at first, but over time, Mako had gotten used to it. The cold drip brewer had been his idea, and he was pretty proud of it, all things considered. 

Hopefully, Jet would listen to another idea of his. 

They were at family dinner, which had grown exponentially in the two years since Mako and Bolin had first been invited. When they started going, it was just Jet, Haru, Jet’s adoptive sister Smellerbee, and Haru’s employee, Opal. Jet had started inviting Korra when he hired her, and when Mako had reconnected with his other ex, Asami, and she started spending all her free time hanging around Wheat and Cream trying to get a glimpse of Korra, Jet winked at Mako and started inviting her too. 

It was all foreign to Mako. He was used to Bolin depending on him, and now, there was this whole group of people asking if he needed anything. Trying to bond with him. Bonding with each other. It felt, almost, like a family.

(He kept photos of his parents up on his wall, but they felt distant, removed from the life that he and Bolin had made for themselves now. His parents had never known Bolin as the man he truly was, and Mako supposed they’d never known him that way either. They hadn’t gotten the chance.)

“Come on, Mako, you know the rules,” Jet sighed, slinging an arm around Haru. Haru smiled into his shoulder. “No business at dinner.” 

“This is important, Jet. The guy’s a menace! He kept us an hour past closing, he made a pass at Korra—” 

“It’s true,” Korra said. “Listen, I know Mako’s been talking everybody’s ear off for weeks complaining about this guy, but in his defense, he has good reason to.” 

“Are you okay?” Asami turned to Korra. “That must have been horrible.” 

Korra puffed up her chest. “I mean, I’m fine. It’s not that big a deal. Happens all the time.”

“Just because it happens all the time doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal,” Asami said, rubbing Korra’s shoulder. “You’re allowed to be upset.” 

Korra smiled at her. “Thanks. But Jet, Mako’s being completely reasonable, asking you to come to the shop and see it for yourself.”

Mako nodded vigorously. “He comes in really often, almost every day. I’m sure he’ll come in tomorrow and you can see for yourself what I’m talking about.” 

Jet frowned at his espresso. “Listen, I sympathize with you. Rich customers are the fucking worst—except for Asami, of course.” 

Asami grinned. “Of course.” 

“But you can ban him yourself, Mako,” Jet continued. “You don’t need my approval. I just want what’s best for my employees.” 

Mako shifted where he sat. “Well, when I tried to throw him out, it didn’t really—it didn’t go—” 

Bolin burst out laughing. “Aw, can widdle Mako not deal with an annoying customer by himself?” 

Mako groaned. “Shut up, Bolin.” 

“Yeah, shut up Bolin,” Haru said, but there was an easy smile on his face. “Come on, Jet, Mako’s been running everything basically by himself for two months now.” 

“Because my back has been in pain.” 

“I know, but still. Go help him out for the day. It would do you good to get outside, see what’s been going on at the shop. Even without this Wu character.” 

“Your better half is right, Jet,” Smellerbee said, grabbing a roll from his plate. “Guys like that are only going to bring trouble. You don’t want your shop to be a place of trouble. And if Mako can’t deal with it, somebody’s got to.” 

“I agree,” Opal said. “I hope he doesn’t figure out where the ceramics shop is.” 

Bolin grinned and slung his arm around her. “Don’t worry, babe, I’ll stop him before he comes up.” 

Opal rolled her eyes and giggled. “Still though. Jet, you really should help Mako out.” 

“Maybe I won’t ban him,” Jet said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “Maybe I’ll meet him and try to reason with him. See if he’s got any deeper issues going on in his life that lead to him harassing my employees.” 

Smellerbee groaned. “You would do that, huh?” 

Jet rolled his eyes. “I was joking, Bee.” 

“No, you’re conning the rest of us into thinking that you’re joking,” she said firmly. “Jet, some people are just awful, and every time you come across them you give them a chance, and every single time, they hurt you. That’s exactly what happened with—”

She stopped when she caught Jet’s glare, but crossed her arms. “Look, sometimes it’s easier to just let people go on their journeys  _ away from you.  _ It’s not your job to help everybody.” 

“I never said it was. But good things come out of helping people too, Smellerbee. If I wasn’t helping people, I never would have started Wheat and Cream, I never would have met Mako and Bolin and Korra and Asami—hell, I never would have met Haru.” 

Haru smiled softly at that. “You’re getting sappy in your old age.” 

“You love it.” 

Haru rolled his eyes and sipped at his tea. “Come on, it’ll be fun. The first time we’ve gone to work together in months.” 

Jet looked on Haru with soft eyes, and Mako took that as his cue to look away. They were both sappy, all the time, and after being around them for a few years he was smart enough to just let them have their moment in peace. 

But of course, when he looked away, he saw Asami stealing a glance at Korra before looking away and blushing. Bolin kissed Opal’s forehead, and Smellerbee just rolled her eyes fondly before pulling out her phone, presumably to text her partner Toph. And something in Mako’s heart twisted. He was happy for all of them, of course. And really, the last thing he needed right now was a girlfriend. 

Yeah. That was the last thing he needed right now. 

___________________________

Mako (and Bolin, after Mako had wrestled with him for half an hour trying to get him to wake up) showed up five minutes early for opening. This was normal. What was not normal was seeing Jet and Haru already waiting for them. 

“You’re late,” Jet laughed as Mako and Bolin walked up to them. 

Haru tsked at them. “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is fired.” 

Bolin frowned, rubbing his eyes. “We’re on time then?” 

Jet laughed. “Learn to take a joke, will you kid? Come on, I’m too old to be opening by myself.” 

Mako forced himself to take a breath. Jet and Haru joked like that sometimes, and it had taken him a while to realize that they were just jokes. There was a reason he’d made it a habit to show up to work early. 

Haru disappeared up to the ceramics shop, and Jet stared quizzically at the way Mako set up the cash register. “You’ve started doing it differently.” 

Mako gulped. “It’s more efficient this way. I can track what customers are ordering and see what’s popular and what’s not. It helps out a lot when we’re trying to figure out what to order.” 

Jet huffed. “This high-tech stuff really isn’t for me. But good work, Mako.” 

Mako flushed with pride. “Thanks.” 

It was actually really great to have Jet back at work with them. He was great at smiling to the customers’ faces and making snide remarks behind their backs, and he always had the funniest made-up stories about people. “You see that lady over there?” Jet murmured under his breath. “She wants us to think she’s rich, but she’s just wearing her boss’s clothes.” 

“Oh yeah,” Mako said. “There’s going to be a big scoop about it in the paper next week.” 

Jet snorted. “You should be the one to write the story. Use me as an anonymous source.” 

Mako couldn’t imagine bringing that story, unvetted and unsourced, to his journalism professor. Lin Beifong could handle a lot of things, but inaccuracy and unethical journalism was not one of them. 

But as much fun as he was having with Jet around for the day, he was getting more and more worried about  _ the customer  _ not showing up. It was pretty rare that they even talked about banning customers, and Mako had no clue how to do it on his own. He needed Jet, and tomorrow, Jet wouldn’t be there. 

So when Mako heard the bell from the door jingle, looked up, and saw the customer and his perfect hair, the first emotion he felt was something like relief. But that disappeared as soon as it flared up, replaced by quietly concealed rage. 

“That’s him,” Mako muttered. “That’s the customer.” 

“Dammit,” Jet muttered. “You didn’t tell me he was Desi.” 

“He’s a jerk!” 

“I know, but there aren’t that many of us in the city—” 

“Jet!” 

Jet held up his hands. “Fine, fine, you’re right.” 

Wu approached the counter. “Hey, tough guy, how’s it going?” 

“I—” 

“Same thing as last night. Mmm, that cold drip really was something.” 

Mako grit his teeth. “I’m not serving you today.” 

Wu’s face fell. “Oh? Is there somebody else, or—” 

Jet stepped in. “Hi, kid, I think it’s time we had a chat about the way you treated my employees last night.” 

Wu stiffened. “Who are you?” 

“Friend of Mako’s, or as you like to refer to him,  _ tough guy. _ Listen, I’ve heard that he and Korra have a few bones to pick with you, and I just can’t have you holding them past closing, all right? It’s against company policy.” 

The customer’s nostrils flared. “Let me speak to the manager. Tell them I have a few  _ bones to pick _ with all of you! I am a paying customer and I demand respect!” 

“Kid, you’re making a scene,” Jet groaned. “And just so you know, I’m the manager. And the owner. And I think it’s high time you get the hell out of here. I’m not going to have my employees upset by the likes of you.” 

Wu narrowed his eyes. “Do you know who my family is?” 

Jet laughed. “No? And before you tell me, I don’t care either.” 

“My great aunt’s going to hear about this,” Wu grumbled. “Then you’ll see. You’ll all see.” 

Jet laughed even harder. “Kid, have you thought about going into standup? You’d be a riot.” His eyes got deadly serious. “I have been through hell and back. There is nothing you can do to me that I haven’t already survived, okay? You made some mistakes, own up to them and  _ get the hell out _ .” 

Wu’s eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, Mako thought Jet had finally done it. But then the guy’s lip curled. 

“You know what? Tensions are running high, and I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot.” He stuck out his hand. “Name’s Wu.” 

Jet shook his head. “Nope, lost your chance, kid, get out.” 

“Oh, come on, let’s negotiate a little!” He pulled out a stack of cards from his front pocket, and Mako’s jaw dropped.

“It probably gets pretty tiring, dealing with schmucks like me all the time. Especially at your… advanced age.” 

Jet narrowed his eyes. “Did you just call me old?” 

“What I mean to say is, you’re very wise, and you’ve shown me the error of my ways, and I would like to make it up to you, of course! Please accept my humble offering of a full set of gift cards to Hong Kong’s premier luxury spa, Hou-Ting Dynasty.” 

“I’ve heard about that place,” Jet huffed. “Heard you can barely get in unless you’re the Queen of England.” 

“My great-aunt owns the place,” Wu said lightly. “I’ll put in a good word for you. All you need to do is show up with whatever lucky lady you choose to indulge with.” 

“I’ll probably take my boyfriend,” Jet said, his eyes flashing. 

Wu was taken aback for a second, but he recuperated quickly. “And we at Hou-Ting Dynasty would love to have you both! We’re very inclusive. Just—consider the offer. I promise, you won’t regret it.” 

Mako expected him to tell Jet what the catch was for the gift card, but to his surprise, Wu winked at him, turned on his heel, and left.

Jet shook his head. “That kid’s a strange one. But then again, most rich kids are.” He pocketed the gift cards. 

“Jet, what are you doing?” 

“Look, he’s right, I am old, and my back hurts like a motherfucker, let me have this.” He stared at the door. “May as well get a parting gift.” 

Mako nodded, and he continued about his day, certain that that was the end of this whole fiasco. 

But of course, with his luck, it wasn’t. 


	2. living just enough, just enough, for the city

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoooo finally got the second chapter of this out! thank you everybody for your enthusiasm for ch 1, I appreciate it so much!   
> as you can see now, I finished plotting! this is going to be 15 very very long chapters, so strap in!  
> also my beta compared certain parts of this chapter to iconic film classic Shrek 2 so I hope you enjoy that.   
> discussions of death, grief, and divorce

“Mako!” 

Mako jumped up in his seat to find his teacher leaning over him, glaring. “Yes, Professor Beifong?” 

She narrowed her eyes. “When was the first public broadcasting service in Hong Kong founded?” 

He rubbed his eyes. “Uh, 1929.” 

“Incorrect. RTHK was founded in 1928.” She scowled at him. “Get your head in the game, Luo,” she grumbled, turning away from him. “See me after class.” 

“Yes, Professor Beifong,” he said, shifting in his seat. It had been a long day. He’d been at the shop late at night dealing with an issue with the cold drip brewer, and then he had to get up early that morning for his stupid IT class, which of course had gotten out late, like it always did, so he’d rushed to Beifong’s class and promptly fell asleep. 

He wasn’t  _ quite _ failing yet, but it was close enough. School had never really been his thing, and the fact that he was working so many hours didn’t exactly help matters. He really needed to talk to Jet about a raise. 

And he didn’t know why Beifong was so up in arms about journalism history. He heard her mom used to chair the journalism department at CUHK, and her classes had been full of  _ actual  _ journalism, really going out and getting the scoop. He wanted to do  _ that.  _ Not memorize the exact date of RTHK’s founding. 

When class let out, he lingered behind everyone else, gingerly approaching Beifong’s desk. She peered at him over her horn-rimmed glasses. 

“How have you been, Mako?” she asked. 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Fine.” 

“Getting through all of your classes okay?”

“I guess?” 

“You have a job, don’t you?” 

He nodded. “At one of the coffee shops, a few miles from here.” 

“I see.” She looked up at him. “Mako, you’re doing too much.” 

He frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean, you can’t exactly do well in my class if your mind is halfway across town,” she said. “You want to be a journalist? Then you have to  _ focus _ .” 

Mako’s eyes stung. “I can’t quit my job.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought you cared about your career?”

“Of course I do, but—” He couldn’t look her in the eyes. “Professor Beifong, I need that job.” 

“You need to stay awake in my classes too,” she said, but she softened. “Look, I think you would benefit from getting help from a tutor. I’ll assign you one.” She flipped through a stack of papers on her desk until she found what she was looking for. “It looks like we don’t have any remaining tutors in the journalism department, but there is someone available in Global Communication. You will meet with him Wednesday at noon. Are we clear?” 

Mako nodded. “Yeah. We’re clear.”

“Good,” Professor Beifong said. She shuffled a few more papers around before looking up at him expectantly. “You’re free to go.” 

He nodded again quickly, turned around, and left, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding.  _ Well,  _ he thought,  _ so much for hard work.  _

_ __________________ _

He, Korra, and Bolin were working the rush hour shift that day, so he got on his scooter and hauled ass to Wheat and Cream, where Asami was already seated, drinking a cup of green tea. “How are you doing, Mako?” 

He sighed. “I’ve been better.” He threw on an apron. “Beifong’s been giving me a hard time about—” 

“Hi, Asami.” Korra stood behind him, smiling shyly in Asami’s direction. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and Asami blushed. “How are you?” 

“Oh, you know, fine,” Asami said, smiling into her tea. “Better now that you’re here.” 

Korra giggled, and Asami giggled, and Mako rolled his eyes and got himself to the register. 

Bolin came out from the back and saw Korra and Asami talking. “Ah, buddy, I’m sorry.” 

“For what?” Mako grumbled. “I’m fine, this is fine, I’m—I’m really happy for them.” 

Bolin looked unconvinced. “Okay.” 

“I am!” 

“You really are a trooper, Mako. I mean, if two of my exes were falling in love with each other, I would just be—” 

“It’s really fine,” Mako said, looking over to see Korra’s eyes shining as she grinned, Asami hanging on her every word. “My relationships with them were trainwrecks anyway. They deserve—they deserve to be with people who make them happy.” 

Bolin’s eyes softened, and he punched Mako in the arm. “You’re a good guy. And you deserve to be happy too, you know.”

Mako sighed. “Yeah, I know. Wipe down the counter, will you?” 

“You got it, boss.” Bolin sprayed it down and pulled out a rag to wipe it. “Speaking of happiness—” 

“Bolin, I told you, if you ever go on and on about your dates with Opal ever again—”

“No, no, this is different, I promise.” Bolin bit his lip. “Did you know that some of Dad’s family is still alive?” 

Mako tensed up. “What?” 

“Yeah, they’re in Beijing. I don’t know, I was just looking through some of Dad’s stuff, and I found this letter from a woman named Yin—” 

_ I thought he’d never find that.  _ “Did you?” 

“Yeah, I mean—that’s amazing, right? And here I was, thinking we were all on our own in the world.” 

“Bolin, we—” Mako took a deep breath. “We’ve never been on our own. We always had each other.” 

“And Jet and Haru and Smellerbee and Asami and Korra and Opal, obviously, yeah, yeah I know, Mako, really, but this is Dad’s mom we’re talking about, and his siblings and cousins and… everybody. They could tell us so much about Dad.” 

Mako shook his head. “I’ve already told you about Dad.” 

“You weren’t that much older than me when he died,” Bolin pointed out. “I mean, they could tell us what he was like as a kid, the stupid shit he got up to when he was a teenager, all kinds of things.” 

Mako nodded, avoiding Bolin’s gaze. “So what do you suggest we do?” 

“Well, I was thinking of sending Yin a letter.” 

“Why?” 

Bolin rubbed his temples in exasperation. “So we can establish a relationship with them, maybe?” 

_ But what if they don’t want a relationship with us?  _ “Look, Bolin, send the letter if you want to send the letter, that’s fine, just… leave me out of it, okay?” 

Bolin frowned at him. “You’re being very weird about this.” 

“I’m not being weird.” 

“Are you okay? Is it the Korra and Asami thing? Is it something with school? Are you burned out on retail work?” 

“I’m  _ fine. _ ” 

Bolin pursed his lips. “Is it me?” 

“What? No, Bolin, it’s not you, you’re perfect, just—” 

And of course, like a manifestation of Mako’s worst nightmare, Wu walked in, sunny and bright and totally unaware of the fact that he was interrupting Mako’s very important discussion with his brother and also that he was  _ banned.  _

“Today really can’t get any worse, can it?” Mako mumbled under his breath.   
Bolin sighed. “Listen, I’ll handle it, okay? Just—” 

But Mako was already marching his way over to Wu, until he was right up in the guy’s face. He smelled like way too expensive cologne, not that Mako noticed. “Don’t you know that you’re banned?” 

Wu smiled. “I think you’ll find that that decision has been overturned.” 

“Really? You think so? Because I think, as shift manager, it would be a good idea for you to get the f—” 

“Stand down, Mako.”

Mako’s jaw dropped as he saw Jet in the doorway, not meeting Mako’s gaze. Wu’s smile grew even wider as he waved at Jet and turned back towards Mako. 

“He’s with me.” 

Now, Wu’s smile took over his entire face, his crooked teeth somehow making him look even more perfect. “Well, I’d love to chat a little more, but if I’m not mistaken, you have a shift to manage,” he said, poking Mako’s shoulder. Mako scowled. “Oh, careful, dear. You really shouldn’t ruin that bone structure with frown lines.” 

Mako’s scowl deepened, and he caught Jet’s arm as he passed. “We need to talk.” He pulled him to the side. “Jet, what the fuck?” 

“Listen, I can explain—” 

“Explain?  _ Explain?  _ Yeah, Jet, I would  _ love  _ an explanation for why the guy that we both agreed was a douchebag is sitting in this coffee shop right now, and why he’s  _ with you. _ ” 

“Have you ever been to Hou-Ting Dynasty, Mako?” 

“Oh, of course I have, because you know how affordable a luxury spa is, especially on my salary.” Mako scoffed. “No, Jet, and you haven’t either. Why is this even relevant?” 

“Well.” Jet coughed. “Well, because, because I—well, Haru and I, we—” 

Mako’s jaw dropped. “You did not.” 

“It’s been so long since we could just relax, Mako!” Jet sighed. “Look, I had the gift cards, and we thought we’d just go for a laugh, but… it was really, really nice.” 

Mako shook his head. “Who  _ are _ you?”

“I’m weak, Mako, I’m weak and I’m exhausted and my back is killing me every second of every day, and I’m sorry.” Jet sighed. “I never wanted to hurt you.” 

Mako cautioned a glance over at Wu, who winked at him. “You still haven’t explained why  _ he’s  _ here.” 

Jet looked down at his shoes. “We ran out of gift cards.” 

“You—you—” Mako inhaled sharply. “So you went to the enormously expensive luxury spa with gift cards, proceeded to blow through said gift cards, and now you’re at his mercy until he gives you more gift cards so you can keep up with a lifestyle that is way, way above your pay grade? Am I getting that right?” 

“Well, you must be getting good grades in your investigative journalism classes,” Jet grumbled. 

“Not funny.” 

“I wasn’t trying to be funny, Mako, you’re a smart kid—” 

“Jet, I want him out.” 

Jet sighed. “Look, it—it’s not even, really, about the money, okay? The money’s a perk, obviously—” 

“Oh, a perk,  _ really _ , you must be enjoying your little perks—” 

“It’s not just about that, okay?” He rubbed his temples. “Look, kid—” 

“I’m not a kid.” 

“Young adult man, or whatever the fuck. Listen to me. Wu has definitely got… flaws. Quite a few of them. But deep down—deep, deep, deep,  _ deep _ down—I really think there’s some good there.” 

Mako groaned. “So you’re doing exactly what Smellerbee said you would do.” 

“Smellerbee doesn’t know everything!”

“That’s not true and we both know it.” 

“Okay, fine, but I swear, I really see something in him, Mako. Something’s going on with his great-aunt, and there’s some issue with his parents, and if you could just give me a little while, I think he has a lot of potential.” 

“He held me and Korra in here for an extra  _ hour _ —” 

“And I have let him know that that was wrong of him, and he says he’s going to apologize.” 

Mako crossed his arms. “Well, he hasn’t yet.” 

“Mako?” 

Mako turned around to see Wu, his infuriatingly perfect black hair shimmering under the fluorescent lights in a way that absolutely no one’s hair should shimmer in a place of work. “I just wanted to apologize for the other night. I wasn’t thinking—or, well, I was thinking, but I wasn’t thinking of anybody but me. Anyway, it won’t happen again.” 

He smiled a little at Mako, and Mako, despite himself, smiled back. 

“See?” Jet said. “Progress. Now, kid, I believe you promised me some more of those—” 

“Oh, right, sorry.” Wu fished around in his pockets and pulled out a stack of gift cards. “Thank you for patronizing Hou-Ting Dynasty,” he said with a wink. 

“Oh, it’s my pleasure.” Jet grinned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Haru and I are going to patronize a little more. Mako, you’re okay here?” 

Mako nodded. Wu was here, Wu was bribing his boss for access to the coffee shop where he worked, Wu smelled like bergamot, and it was all fine. It was all completely and totally fine. 

“Of course,” Mako said.

“Amazing. Well, Wu, behave yourself. I’m off.” He looked over at Korra and Asami, who had continued talking the entire time. “When are they going to get a grip?” 

Mako shrugged. “Hell if I know.”

Wu’s eyes widened. “Wait, Korra and Asami are…  _ dating? _ ” 

He whispered the last part, as if it was some big secret, and Jet laughed. “I wish,” he said. “They’ve been dancing around each other for months. At this rate, Korra’s study abroad is going to end and all they’ll have to show for it is the many times they were giggling at each other when Korra should have been working.” 

Mako snorted, and Wu coughed. “Well, I’ll just, um—I’m going to order. I’ll see you later, Jet.” 

Haru came down from the ceramics shop and waved quickly to Mako and a little reluctantly to Wu before heading out with Jet. Korra finally tore herself from Asami’s side to actually work, and Mako sent her in the back to wash dishes. Bolin brought cold drip coffee to Mako’s favorite table, the one at the window that Wu was making his new home, before making finger guns at Asami and saying “See you in a few.” 

Mako rolled his eyes. “Bolin, you’re working until 7.” 

Bolin’s eyes widened. “Did I forget to put in for time off?” 

“What makes you think you get time off?” 

“I don’t know, my boss is my brother and my other boss is basically my dad, so I was hoping we could work something out.” Bolin grinned at him, and Mako scowled.  _ Jet’s not anybody’s dad. _ “Come on, Asami and I have trans day.” 

“And I desperately need it,” Asami said, running her hands through her hair. “It has really been too long.” 

Mako looked over at Wu to see his eyes wide as saucers. “You have  _ what?” _

Asami sipped at her tea. “See, this is exactly why I need trans day,  _ Mako.” _

Bolin hopped onto the counter. “It’s really cool. Every month, Asami and I go shopping and get face masks and talk shit. Self-care.” 

“At least until I kick his ass at mahjong,” Asami laughed. “Last month, Smellerbee—Jet’s sister—came with us, and for the first time I felt like I actually had to put up a fight.” 

“You know what, actually, I think I’ll stay at work—” 

“No, no, please, I really, really need to talk to you about—um, you know. Stuff,” she said, her face going pink as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, okay? Please come with me.” 

Bolin smiled at Mako. “You heard the woman. Can I go?” 

Mako rolled his eyes. “I suppose there’s not too many people here…” 

“Thank you!” Bolin said as he rushed past Mako to get his coat. “Asami, you want facials first or to get straight into the drama?” 

Asami thought about it for a second. “Facials. I need to ease into things before actually talking about it.” 

“And you’re paying, right?” Mako muttered. 

Asami laughed. “What kind of person would I be if I didn’t?” 

“Our only good rich customer,” Bolin said proudly, not meeting Wu’s gaze. “See you later, bro.” 

“Bye,” Mako said. 

Wu’s jaw was on the floor as he watched Asami and Bolin leave. He turned to Mako. “Are they all tongzhi?” 

Mako narrowed his eyes. “Little invasive of you to ask that, don’t you think?” 

“I didn’t mean—I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have—why are you laughing?” 

“I’m just kidding. They’re all pretty open about who they are. And to answer your question, yeah, it’s pretty much everybody except for me and Opal.”

For less than a second, Wu looked… crestfallen, or at least Mako thought, but whatever emotion it was, it disappeared just as soon as it came. “That’s amazing.” 

“Yeah, well, not everybody thinks so,” Mako muttered. “It took me a long time to feel safe anywhere.”

Wu raised an eyebrow. “Took you a long time?” 

“I mean, because of Bolin, you know, I was just afraid of something happening to him—why am I even talking to you about this?” Mako sighed, his heart thudding in his chest. “Look, I have to get back to work, just—I don’t know, do what you need to do, I guess.” 

He rushed into the back before Wu had a chance to reply. “Korra, I need you on register.” 

“Thank  _ fuck,” _ Korra groaned, leaving behind a pile of dirty dishes. “Hey, is Asami—” 

“She left with Bolin,” Mako said. “Trans day.” 

“Oh,” Korra said, her face falling a little bit. “All right.” 

Mako rolled his eyes. Jet was right, she was  _ never  _ going to make her move. And from the looks of it, Asami was never going to make a move either, even though everybody but Korra knew exactly how she felt. They were just going to dance around each other hopelessly until Korra left Hong Kong forever. 

Ugh,  _ girls.  _

And then, just for a second, he thought about Wu at the window. 

He huffed. There was no time for any of that shit, anyway. It wasn’t his business if Korra and Asami never figured out their feelings for one another anyway. They were his friends, and his ex-girlfriends, and he was lucky that they were still in his life after what he had done to them. The best thing to do would be not to meddle, to let them self-destruct on their own time. 

And right on cue, he heard Korra’s voice. “Mako, we’re out of pineapple buns and somebody wants one!” 

He sighed and stopped his dishwashing, going to where they were keeping the freshly-baked buns and heading out front, to where Korra and Wu were waiting for him. Mako shook his head and took one of the red bean paste pineapple buns off of the tray and handed it to Wu. 

He smiled. “You remembered?” 

“You order the same pastry every day,” Mako grunted, putting the rest in the display window. When he got up, Korra had a weird grin on her face. 

Wu took the pineapple bun and went back to his table, pulling open a book and munching on his pastry.  _ Crevasse  _ by Nicholas Wong. Huh. 

“He doesn’t seem like the type to be into poetry,” Mako mumbled. 

Korra shrugged. “Sometimes people can surprise you.” 

He narrowed his eyes.  _ Nicholas Wong.  _ He remembered how excited his mother had been to read his first collection,  _ Cities of Sameness,  _ how she’d counted down the days until she could have her hands on it. How the days had stopped once she died. 

He’d read  _ Cities of Sameness  _ cover to cover, a thousand times, and  _ Crevasse  _ too. He could recite them both by heart, and he did, sometimes, when he was thinking of his mother and the grief was going all the way down. She’d made a poetry lover of him yet. 

He wasn’t sure what the image of Wu reading  _ Crevasse  _ meant to him yet. But as much as he tried to shove it out of his brain, he knew it meant something yet. 

Before he could think of it any further, the bell on the door of the shop rang loudly, the door hitting the wall with a clang. Jet and Haru stomped in, already in the middle of an argument. 

“I just don’t understand why you had to make a  _ scene—”  _

“He’s my mortal enemy!” 

“He’s your ex from  _ fifty years ago—”  _

“He screwed me over! He left me for dead!” 

“So you had to attack him in the middle of a  _ spa—”  _

“How  _ dare  _ he show his face in this city again!” 

“You realize we’re never going to be able to show  _ our  _ faces at that spa again, right?”

“This isn’t about social norms, this is about  _ justice—”  _

“Yes, I know, Jet, it’s always about  _ justice _ with you.” 

“Don’t patronize me!” 

“What happened?” Mako interrupted, his eyes wide. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Jet and Haru fight before, let alone with the amount of vigor that they were fighting with now. 

“What  _ happened?”  _ Haru sighed. “This idiot saw his ex-boyfriend—” 

_ “Mortal enemy.”  _

Haru rolled his eyes. “My apologies. His mortal enemy was getting a massage at Hou-Ting Dynasty, and Jet decided to  _ attack him.”  _

Korra laughed. “Wait, really? Right in the middle of the spa?” 

“He deserved it,” Jet huffed. “After the way he treated me? He’s lucky I didn’t start throwing those hot rocks at him.” 

“Did you ever think about how I might feel about this? Did you ever think that I might be embarrassed?” 

That seemed to sober Jet up a little. “I—” 

But before Jet could say anything further, another couple walked into the shop. They were about the same age as Jet and Haru—that was to say, old. One of them had dark skin and a shock of white hair pulled into a wolftail at the top of his head, and some grizzled white stubble on his face. Mako could tell that he had been really handsome as a young man, and one could argue that he was handsome now, that the wrinkles and the slight stoop in his back gave him a certain poise. The man beside him was slightly taller, his white hair tied neatly into a long ponytail, and a long, carefully groomed white beard on his face. He was pale except for a giant scar over his left eye and part of his ear.

Jet grimaced. “Zuko!” 

Korra brightened. “Grandpa!”

The man with the wolftail smiled. “Korra!” 

_ “Grandpa?”  _ Jet said incredulously. 

“Jet?” the man with the scar said. 

“Sokka!” Haru said, grinning.

The man with the wolftail pulled away from Korra. “Haru!” 

“Okay, somebody explain to me what the  _ fuck  _ is going on!” Jet growled. 

Korra frowned. “I told you my grandpa was coming to visit me, right? This is my grandpa, Sokka.” 

“We know each other,” Sokka said coolly. 

Jet didn’t meet his gaze, choosing instead to focus on the other man. “So why is  _ he  _ here?” 

“He’s my husband.” 

Jet choked on nothing. “He’s your  _ what?  _ Weren’t you marrying Suki?” 

“When we last saw each other, fifty years ago?” 

“Yeah!” 

Sokka sighed. “Not that it’s any of your business, Jet, but we got divorced a long time ago.” 

“And then you chose to marry him? He’s an  _ asshole!”  _

“Honey, maybe don’t call him an asshole to his face when we don’t know if he’s going to press charges or not,” Haru said under his breath, a forced smile on his face. 

“I’m not—I’m not pressing charges,” Zuko said. He was difficult for Mako to read, but he seemed sincere. “Jet, I just want to apolo—”

“No!” Jet was in his face now. “You don’t get to apologize to me,  _ fifty years too late.”  _

Korra scowled at Zuko. “If it makes you feel any better, Jet, I didn’t want him here either.” 

Sokka shook his head. “Korra, please—” 

“Whatever, it’s fine,” she mumbled. 

“None of this is fine!” Haru rubbed his temples. “Look, I’m not Zuko’s biggest fan either—” 

“That’s fair,” Zuko said. 

“Don’t interrupt me, asshole,” Haru muttered.  _ Damn, if looks could kill.  _ “But I am too old to see the man I love assaulting his ex in a luxury spa. So you both have to work something out, okay?” 

Sokka laughed. “Wait, you guys are  _ together?”  _

Haru’s eyes blazed. “Yes.” 

“Forty-eight years strong,” Jet said, crossing his arms. 

“I’m—I’m sorry I laughed, it’s just—Haru, I never would have expected this for you,” Sokka said, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “But… congratulations?” 

“Thanks,” Haru said drily, his gaze hard as steel. 

“Jet, I know you probably never wanted to see my face again after what I did to you, but I promise, I will do anything to make up for what I did to you,” Zuko said. 

“Just buy him some gift cards. I’m sure he’ll forgive you then,” Mako grumbled. 

Jet’s eyes narrowed. “Stay out of this, kid.” 

“Don’t call me kid.” 

“I really don’t need you sassing me right now, Mako,” Jet huffed. “And, Zuko, I don’t think there’s anything you can do that’s going to make me like you or trust you again. Ever.” 

“I testified against my father when he was put on trial, if that makes a difference,” Zuko said quietly. 

“Aang says that Ikeda Industries would never have left Wan Chai if it weren’t for Zuko’s testimony,” Sokka piped up. “Isn’t that what you wanted? For Ikeda to get out of your neighborhood?” 

Jet’s gaze looked almost murderous. “Too little, too late.” 

“No, Jet,” Haru said. “This has gone on long enough. Zuko’s clearly sorry about what he did and it’s been half a fucking century, so why don’t you—” 

“He could have all the time in the world and it wouldn’t be enough,” Jet said quietly. “He betrayed me. I did  _ everything  _ for him and he still betrayed me. How do you forgive that?” 

The shop fell silent. And then, from the corner, Wu spoke up. 

“Forgive me if I’m overstepping, but I think I might be able to help.” 

Sokka frowned. “And who are you?” 

“Name’s Wu, my great-aunt owns the spa where your husband and Jet had their little… altercation.” He coughed. “Anyway, I have a certificate in conflict resolution, and I think I can help all of you work out your differences.” 

“What if I don’t want to work out our differences?” Jet grumbled. 

“Sorry to say this, but I don’t think you have a choice,” Wu continued. “See, you and Zuko have a common interest that binds you together.” 

“And what the hell is that?” 

“Korra,” Zuko breathed. 

“Exactly,” Wu said. “Korra is Sokka’s granddaughter and Zuko’s… step-granddaughter, I’m assuming?” 

“We don’t use phrases like that in my family,” Sokka said. 

“But there’s always room for new traditions,” Korra added, her scowl growing deeper. 

Wu coughed. “Right. Anyway, Sokka and Zuko love Korra very much, so much that they’ve come from wherever they’re from—” 

“Canada,” Zuko filled in. “I moved there after the trial.” 

“And that’s my home,” Sokka said. 

“Right. Canada’s a long way from here, so of course they’re going to want to get their money’s worth and spend as much time with Korra as possible.” 

“You can’t put a price on spending time with family,” Sokka interrupted. 

“I’m sure Zuko can,” Jet muttered. 

Haru pursed his lips. “Wu, what were you saying?” 

“Well, Sokka and Zuko are going to want to spend a lot of time with Korra, but so much of Korra’s life is here, with you and Jet. She works here, she spends time with you guys outside of work. You both love her like family. And especially since it seems like Korra and Zuko have… unresolved issues, she’s not going to choose spending time with them over spending time with Jet and Haru, but she’s also not going to choose Jet and Haru over her grandfather she’s known her entire life.” 

“Who told you this shit?” Korra hissed. 

Wu noted Korra’s tone and took it in stride. “Nobody. I’m pretty good at reading people.” 

_ If you were better you’d shut up,  _ Mako thought, but he didn’t particularly care if Korra murdered Wu for getting involved in her personal life. 

“So you’re saying we’re at an impasse,” Zuko said. “And the way we get past it is by resolving our past conflict.” 

“Exactly.”

Jet chewed his bottom lip. “Korra, are you sure that you wouldn’t just choose one of us and leave it at that?” 

Korra didn’t speak for a moment, but then she sighed. “No, the goon’s right. I don’t care about Zuko, but I can’t do that to Grandpa. But I also can’t do that to you. So I guess that’s that.” 

Mako saw Zuko grimace, and he made a mental note to ask Korra just what her problem with him was. He’d hurt Jet, so Mako couldn’t imagine he was a good person, but he also loved Korra, clearly. And Korra was usually pretty good at forgiving people who loved her. 

Sokka huffed. “So what do we do, Certificate Man?” 

“Well, I’ll have to hear about what happened fifty years ago, from both of your perspectives, preferably in private,” Wu said. 

“You can come with us to dinner tonight,” Zuko said. “I’ll tell you everything.” 

“Then I guess you can come to family dinner tomorrow night,” Jet offered. “I’ll tell you what actually happened.” 

Mako’s eyes widened. “You can’t invite  _ him  _ to family dinner!” 

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Jet took a deep breath and put a hand on Mako’s shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? About everything.” 

Mako scowled. Jet smiled at him in a way that seemed like it was meant to be reassuring, but he just looked tired. 

“You don’t have to show up if you don’t want to,” he said quietly. “I won’t mind.” 

Mako stood straighter.  _ “He’s _ not going to push me out of family dinner,” he muttered. 

“Really appreciate the vote of confidence,” Wu said drily. “After I hear both versions of the story, the five of us can sit down and make an action plan together.” 

“I want Mako there,” Jet said. 

Wu nodded. “We can absolutely make that happen. Right, Mako?” 

Mako did a halfhearted thumbs up. “Anything for you, boss.” 

“Excellent. Until then, are there any demands that either side wants to make?” 

“Zuko can’t set foot in my shop without my permission again.” Jet’s eyes were blazing. 

Zuko looked taken aback for a second, but to his credit, he composed himself quickly. “Of course. Whatever you need.” 

“I guess that’s our cue,” Sokka said. “Well, it was nice meeting Korra’s friends. I hope I get to spend more time with all of you.” 

“You will, Grandpa,” Korra said. “I’ve got to introduce you to Asami.” Her eyes went a little misty before she snapped back. “And Bolin. Bolin’s awesome.” 

Sokka snorted. “I look forward to it.” He waved at everyone before leaving the shop, Zuko following close behind. 

Jet pulled out a chair and put his head in his hands. “Well. That was a fucking nightmare.” 

Mako nodded, looking over at Wu. He couldn’t help but agree. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! so this fic has required that I do a lot of research, especially on Hong Kong queer culture and literature. The Pink Alliance, a Hong Kong-based LGBTQ+ activism organization, has been absolutely invaluable in that research. [ If you would like to help me help them out, their donation link is here! ](https://pinkalliance.hk/donate/) thank you so much!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! kudos and comments are much appreciated, and if you want to see more of me you can follow me @nonbinary-crafter-aang on tumblr! 
> 
> as you may have noticed, this fic is set in Hong Kong, so [ here is a reddit thread with a list of ways that you can show your support for Hong Kong protesters! ](https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/comments/cv0ws4/how_can_you_help_hong_kong_protests_from_abroad/)


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